Popular housewares store plans move

WASILLA — For the foodie in the Valley, there are few options to scratch that itch to cook with world-class equipment. And if you are seriously into good food, All I Saw Cookware (it’s “Wasilla” spelled backward) is a go-to place for high-end pots, pans, gadgets and everything the well-appointed kitchen needs.

That’s why Frontiersman readers selected the retail outlet, located in the Meta Rose Square shopping center in downtown, was voted “Best Housewares Store” in the newspaper’s annual Best of the Valley voting.

Again.

All I Saw also won the award in 2012, and it’s no surprise for those who have been loyal customers for nearly 40 years. And for 15 of those years, the store has been under the ownership of Susan and David Nyberg.

Asked what keeps the store open and why customers would vote All I Saw Best of the Valley, David quipped it’s because “they’re addicted to candy.”

The store also carries a selection of gourmet candy and sweets, along with coffees and teas.

“They buy a lot of candy, coffee and tea, and purchase cookware, of course,” he said. “We offer higher-end cookware and we’re the only ones. Allen and Peterson’s cooking section is the only ones competing with us. That’s it for Wasilla for higher-quality cookware.”

For a guy from Rhode Island who married a woman from Texas, the couple originally migrated to the Last Frontier when David worked in an oil field in Prudhoe Bay. After retiring from the oil industry, the Nybergs stayed in Alaska, settled in the Valley and bought All I Saw as a retirement business.

Apparently, they’re doing well. According to the popular website Yelp.com, where customers review businesses and restaurants, Becca C of Seattle, Wash., was impressed. And yes, she loved the sweets.

“There’s one reason they’re worth 5 stars: They offer the most wonderful petits fours ever!” she wrote. “I’m addicted to these small, delectable mini-cakes!”

She also praises the selection and customer service.

“The guy who owns the store is very nice and helpful as well,” she wrote. “I came in 10 minutes before closing and he was in no rush to get me out of there, he asked me if I needed help with anything. Now that’s service.”

Now that “retirement” business is preparing to enter a new chapter — All I Saw Cookware is moving from its downtown location. The store’s lease in the Meta Rose building is up and rather than renew, David said they’ve decided to downsize a little and will move to space in a shopping center at 701 S. Knik-Goose Bay Road (the same center that houses Batteries-Plus).

“We’re working on it slowly but surely,” he said. “But (the move) will probably be in July.”

That the city of Wasilla, which owns the Meta Rose building, has expressed a desire to sell the building is “part of the equation” behind the move, but David said it wasn’t the driving factor. “Our lease was up anyway. We’re downsizing, it’s a smaller space where we’ll be able to just be identified of having gourmet-type kitchen products.”

For all the 2013 Best of the Valley winners, see Tuesday’s Frontiersman.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or

greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.